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I remember tuning into an episode of Oprah, as I was curious to find out what she was going to teach the world about eating. The name of the episode was called “Food 101”. She got the inspiration for producing the show after watching the documentary “Food Inc” with Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma). In my opinion, this documentary shows an amazingly enlightening perspective on where our food is coming from in the United States. As a naturopathic doctor my job constantly entails teaching my patients how to eat and after the new year, I made it my goal to get as many patients as possible to watch the documentary.

I started by getting as many patients as possible to do my cleanse|detoxification protocol. This would allow me to give a talk on the benefits of doing a cleanse while reminding my patients the importance of food and the kinds of food that they should be eating every day.

Oprah mentioned several times the importance of eating consciously. Essentially being aware of what we are putting into our body and more importantly knowing what is in the foods and the source of the ingredients/food we consume from the super market and the restaurants we frequent. This is key. Understanding the food available on super market shelves, meat/produce/dairy departments, and fast food restaurants, sadly is void of essential nutrients, minerals and vitamins, but rather latent with chemicals, pesticides, antibiotics and hormones. Once an individual fully grasps the concept to eat by being fully aware of what they consume has an origin, the sooner maintaining healthy habits and good health can be attained.

The beauty of doing a cleanse is that not only will it benefit the detoxification pathways in the body, and as a result you’ll feel better, but you’ll also find that eating whole food, organic food during the cleanse will soon become (and desired) a lifetime commitment.

I encourage my patients to eat as much whole food, organic fruits, vegetables grains, and food in it’s most natural state. Consuming less packaged foods or preservative-filled foods, and eliminating anything with high fructose corn syrup. And to be sure to use these guidelines when purchasing produce, it is called “The Dirty Dozen” and “The Clean Fifteen”:

Dirty Dozen — Foods You Should Consume Organic

Strawberries

Spinach

Nectarines

Apples

Peaches

Celery

Grapes

Pears

Cherries

Tomatoes

Sweet bell peppers

Potatoes

Clean Fifteen — Food Lowest in Pesticides

Sweet corn

Avocados

Pineapples

Cabbage

Onions

Frozen sweet peas

Papayas

Asparagus

Mangoes

Eggplant

Honeydew

Kiwifruit

Cantaloupe

Cauliflower

Grapefruit

Once you become connected with the concept that “what you are is what you eat” the sooner you will find yourself on the path to better health and wellness. It is not just a mantra I use in my practice, but I also believe simply enough, a system of living that will greatly improve your quality of life.